Chapter 263: Chapter 260: Congratulations and a Grand Gift

「One year later.」

Li Ping had finally refined the Devouring Essence Sword completely and could unleash about seventy percent of its power.

At this point, he did not continue his seclusion.

...

Ji Nianyun sat cross-legged, guarding the secret chamber from the outside. His gaze swept over the chamber from time to time, revealing flashes of excitement.

Because of his special relationship with Li Ping, Shi Yutong had sent him here to wait for Li Ping to emerge from his seclusion and immediately convey the Flying Snow Sect’s goodwill.

Compared to how they had treated Xiao Yunzhi before, the Flying Snow Sect now clearly placed far more importance on Li Ping.

After all, Li Ping was not just a Core Formation Cultivator; he was also an Alchemy Master capable of refining Tier Three Pills.

A Core Formation Cultivator and a Tier Three Alchemy Master.

Such a status would command enough respect even in Great Zhou, to say nothing of the Land of the Far North.

After Ji Nianyun had stood vigil for several years, the door to the secret chamber finally opened.

A graceful figure, a thoughtful expression on his face, walked out slowly. It was Li Ping.

At that moment, the Devouring Essence Sword was in his abdomen, ready to be summoned for battle at any time.

He had also completely figured out the rules of the second gray islet.

Things were just as he had guessed. The island’s thousand-fold time acceleration effect only worked on a single Spirit Medicine. Once he planted more, the Spirit Medicines would share the acceleration effect.

Furthermore, due to the gray islet’s limited area, even if he didn’t care about the acceleration effect being diluted, he could only plant a maximum of ten Spirit Medicines at a time.

Having understood the rules, Li Ping couldn’t help but sigh softly.

A thousand-fold time acceleration was fantastic, of course, but planting more Spirit Medicines on the island would dilute the effect, which undoubtedly dampened his mood significantly.

Of course, even with such a drawback, it didn’t detract from how heaven-defying the second island was.

...

The moment he saw Li Ping walk out of the secluded chamber, Ji Nianyun hurriedly and respectfully called out, "Grandpa Li, Nianyun congratulates you on achieving your Golden Core! A long life is now within your grasp!"

In Ji Nianyun’s eyes, although Grandpa Li’s attire was no different from over a decade ago, at this moment, his gaze was like lightning, his eyes shone with a sharp light, and his every move carried the aura of a superior. He was like a completely different person from before his Core Formation.

"Oh? Were you waiting here for me to emerge from my seclusion?" Hearing Ji Nianyun’s congratulations, Li Ping’s mood lifted.

As the first person to congratulate him on his advancement to the Core Formation Stage, he planned to give Ji Nianyun a reward.

"Yes, Grandpa Li." Ji Nianyun could tell Li Ping was in a good mood and quickly said respectfully, "Ever since I learned that you had achieved your Golden Core, Grandpa Li, I have been waiting here for your instructions."

Li Ping smiled and nodded. "Very good, very good. You’ve been thoughtful."

Just as he was about to take out some Pills from his Storage Bag to bestow upon Ji Nianyun, he heard the whistling of wind as a figure flew in from the distance and landed before him.

Snow-white skin and silver hair, dressed in a long robe of gold and silver, with a face as lovely as a snow lotus—it was Shi Yutong.

The moment she landed, she hurriedly said with respect, "Elder Li, Yutong congratulates you on forming your Golden Core and taking another step forward on the Immortal Dao."

Before Li Ping’s Core Formation, Shi Yutong had addressed him as Brother Li.

She had addressed him that way mainly to show intimacy, but also because they were Cultivators of the same rank, which allowed her to be a little playful.

Now that Li Ping had formed his Golden Core, he was a Master.

It was naturally no longer appropriate for her to call him Brother Li, so she obediently changed her address to Elder Li.

"You’re too kind, little friend Shi. I must thank your esteemed Sect for providing the location for me to successfully form my core." Li Ping replied with a warm smile, his tone gentle, but he did not correct Shi Yutong’s form of address.

He never had any particular feelings for Shi Yutong to begin with. On top of that, over a decade ago, when that Lu Chang’an from Great Zhou was investigating the destruction of Silver Moon City, Shi Yutong had exposed Xiao Yunzhi’s existence, which had displeased him.

Moreover, after his Core Formation, he no longer needed anything from the Flying Snow Sect.

All these reasons combined made him choose to proactively distance himself from Shi Yutong.

’In any case, I don’t plan to stick around the Land of the Far North after my Core Formation. I’m already eager to return to the Western Wilderness, explore the underground Spirit Vein at Little Plum Mountain, and then hide away there to switch my main Cultivation Technique. As for the threat from the Blood Shadow Sect... Fifty or sixty years have passed since Hua Hong’s death. Even if Hua Wuji isn’t dead yet, after so many years of searching without finding the culprit, he has probably given up. And then there’s Wei Yiling. I wonder if she managed to escape to Great Zhou safely.’ Li Ping’s thoughts turned to the woman who had lost her composure so completely before him. ’If Hua Wuji hasn’t captured her, then perhaps he still doesn’t know that I’m the one who killed his descendant.’

Meanwhile, hearing Li Ping accept her form of address so calmly and with no intention of correcting it, Shi Yutong’s eyes couldn’t help but dim.

In truth, her previous interactions with Li Ping were purely to win him over and befriend him; there were no other special intentions.

But now that Li Ping had reached the Core Formation Stage, she suddenly discovered that her feelings for him were a little different.

Deep down, she seemed to long to be held and cherished in Li Ping’s arms.

She couldn’t tell if this was the budding love of a young maiden that had long been hidden in her heart, or simply the psychological attraction to a powerful figure—a Core Formation Master.

Forcing herself to rally, Shi Yutong smiled and said, "Elder Li, you’re too polite. Our Sect merely provided some insignificant assistance. For Elder Li to break through to the Core Formation Stage within our Sect is our good fortune, bringing glory to all of us."

After some polite pleasantries, Shi Yutong respectfully led Li Ping to a seat in a large hall.

Then, she took out a Spiritual Material she had prepared long ago and presented it. "This piece of Jade Gold is a gift from our Sect to congratulate you on your Core Formation, Elder. I hope you won’t find it lacking."

"Oh?" Li Ping looked at the item Shi Yutong presented.

Jade Gold was a Metal Attribute, Tier Three Spiritual Material. It wasn’t exceptionally precious, but it could just barely be used to forge a Magical Treasure.

A palm-sized piece of Jade Gold could fetch around seven or eight thousand Spirit Stones at an auction.

For Shi Yutong to offer such a Treasure just to congratulate him on his Core Formation was quite generous.

However, this amount of Spirit Stones was nothing to Li Ping, and he didn’t want to incur any karmic debt with the Flying Snow Sect over this piece of Jade Gold.

Therefore, facing the Spiritual Material presented to him, he simply smiled and waved his hand. "I cannot accept a reward I haven’t earned. I am unworthy of this Jade Gold. Little friend Shi, please take it back."

Shi Yutong was about to try and persuade him further, but one look at Li Ping’s indifferent eyes made her swallow her words.

"I was being presumptuous." Shi Yutong put away the Jade Gold and stopped trying to persuade him. Instead, she began to ask Li Ping for guidance on the path of cultivation.

Li Ping nodded slightly and then began to offer her guidance with a smile.

In truth, Shi Yutong’s mother, Qianxue Master, was a Core Formation Cultivator herself. Although she was a bit too sentimental, her Core Formation Stage Cultivation was genuine.

If Shi Yutong truly encountered any problems in her cultivation, she could simply ask her mother for guidance and have her doubts resolved.

The reason she was asking Li Ping for cultivation advice now was mainly to use it as a pretext to get closer to him.

After all, there was no one in this world who didn’t enjoy being a teacher.

A person could gain immense satisfaction and pleasure from guiding others.

After a long while, Li Ping stood up to take his leave. "I have caused your esteemed Sect much trouble during my Core Formation. It is inconvenient for me to disturb you further today, little friend Shi. I will visit again another day!"

"The Flying Snow Sect will always welcome you, Elder Li." Shi Yutong could see that Li Ping had other matters to attend to, so she didn’t press him to stay, instead offering these words with a smile.

Li Ping smiled and nodded. "Good."

...

When he walked out of the hall, Ji Nianyun was still waiting respectfully outside.

Li Ping flew towards the exit of the Flying Snow Sect, motioning for Ji Nianyun to follow.

"Grandpa Li." Seeing Li Ping beckon to him, Ji Nianyun couldn’t help but show a look of pleasant surprise as he hurried to follow.

Along the way, Li Ping would occasionally offer him guidance on his cultivation. It made Ji Nianyun feel that he had gained a great deal, as if his Cultivation was about to break through at any moment.

But he soon realized this was just an illusion caused by absorbing too much knowledge at once.

It was like how many people skip dinner and feel like they’ve lost ten pounds, only to get on a scale and discover it was purely their imagination.

Li Ping led Ji Nianyun back to his residence in Changping Square, one following the other.

Arriving at the pavilion, Li Ping smiled and gestured for him to sit, but Ji Nianyun refused, remaining standing respectfully. Li Ping had no choice but to let him be.

However, Li Ping’s next words made his expression change drastically.

Li Ping said with a smile, "I will be leaving Flying Snow City soon."

"Grandpa Li, you’re leaving?" Ji Nianyun’s face was filled with shock.

Li Ping nodded. "Yes, I plan to return to the Western Wilderness to handle some miscellaneous matters. By the way, your father wished to have his ashes returned to his ancestral home. Bring them to me, and I will take them back to the Western Wilderness to be buried in the Ji family’s ancestral tomb."

"This...?" Ji Nianyun was in a difficult position.

It turned out that while Ji Shu Xuan had wished to have his ashes returned to his ancestral home, the members of the Ji family disagreed. Ah Yun, in particular, hoped to be buried together with her Daoist partner after her own death.

The reason for Ji Nianyun’s dilemma was his worry that if Grandpa Li took his father’s ashes back to the Western Wilderness, his mother would be overwhelmed with grief.

Li Ping pondered for a moment and thought that Ji Nianyun’s concerns were not without reason.

On one hand was his father’s dying wish, and on the other was his mother’s desire. No wonder he was in a difficult spot.

"How about this." Li Ping came up with an idea for Ji Nianyun based on a plot he had once read in a storybook. "Divide your father’s ashes in two. Leave half in Flying Snow City as a memento for you and your mother, and I will take the other half back to the Western Wilderness, allowing your father to return to his roots."

’In reality, Ji Shu Xuan was already dead. Once dead, one knows that all worldly matters are empty. Both Ah Yun’s so-called memento and his own wish to return to his roots were ultimately illusions. Dividing the ashes in two might seem like preventing Ji Shu Xuan from having a complete body after death, but it was actually a solution that satisfied both parties.’

Ji Nianyun hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing to Grandpa Li’s proposal, though his expression was a bit downcast.

He immediately prepared to go back to the ancestral hall to retrieve half of his father’s ashes and give them to Li Ping.

But Li Ping stopped him. "There’s no hurry about the ashes. I have an item to bestow upon you."

Hearing that Grandpa Li was going to bestow a Treasure upon him, Ji Nianyun’s eyes immediately lit up.

SWISH!

With a wave of his hand, Li Ping summoned a black figure nearly two meters tall before Ji Nianyun. He said with a smile, "This Tier Two Upper Grade puppet is no longer of much use to me, so I’ll leave it to you."

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